Fatigue is a common symptom of this disease, which is also seen in other serious illnesses.
Multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Photo: shutterstock
This is amazing Illness Attacks the autoimmune myelin out of nerveswhich affects the functions brain. to me Dr. Carlos OteroAnd neurologistThe symptoms It is variable and different in each patient. The most common symptoms are: numbness in the hand, clumsiness, injury to the bladder, among others. “In most cases, once a patient goes to their doctor, the problem cannot be diagnosed right away. multiple sclerosis“, claimed.
Estimated that in the world 2.8 million people suffer from this disease. and in Puerto Rico4,000 to 5,000 people have the diagnosis. It is often confused with muscle disorders and bone disorders, arteriosclerosis, etc Neurological diseasesSubsequently Many people may be unaware of the condition.
Symptoms common with other conditions
There are no specific tests for diagnosis The hardening Multiple, so they should be determined based on the symptoms they cause and Exclusion of other diseases that appear similarbut for those out there a test more or less specific. This is known as mixed diagnosis.
Oftentimes, this can be challenging; Especially if we take into account that Clinical picture from hardening multiple It varies greatly depending on the affected nerves and severity of damage myelin and nerve fibers.
For example, a person with MS, especially in the early stages, may experience numbness or tingle on one or more sides. The problem is east sign of illness It also appears in other severe cases like diabetes, Peripheral Artery Diseasefibromyalgia, some tumors or abscesses that press on certain nerves, damage Nervousness due to excessive consumption Prolonged alcohol or stroke.
Another common sign is fatigueIt is also common in diseases such as anemia, depression, iron deficiency, various sleep disorders, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, Alzheimer’s disease, AddisonArthritis, cancer, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart failure, and infections such as endocarditis, kidney disease or liver disease.
Diseases to rule out
Given all the known symptoms, in clinical practice, there are a series of diseases that It is usually necessary to rule this out in order to reach an accurate diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Among the infectious diseases, for example, it can be confused with various meningitis, encephalitis, brain abscesses, and “encephalomyelitis caused by human immunodeficiency virus), neurosyphilis, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, parasitism, tropical spastic paraplegia, Whipple disease, or Lyme disease. It is especially important Correctly identify these diseasesBecause delaying treatment can have very serious consequences in a short time.
Various forms of cancer or tumors, such as primary lymphomas of the central nervous system, may go unnoticed under a misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis. It can also occur with injuries from radiation therapy.
Likewise, it is considered crucial Exclusion of some vascular diseasessome of them are very serious (eg, moyamoya disease, multiple infarcts or vasculitis due to medication) before the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Finally, other disorders affecting myelin may be the biggest confounder. This group includes optic neuritis, optic neuritis (with symptoms resembling the visual manifestations of MS), transverse myelitis, leukodystrophy or a deficiency of Vitamin B12.
Consulting resource here.